H.Con.Res. 331 (100th): A concurrent resolution to acknowledge the contribution of the Iroquois Confederacy of Nations to the development of the United States Constitution and to reaffirm the continuing government-to-government relationship between Indian tribes and the United States established in the Constitution.

102 STAT. 4932 CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—OCT. 21, 1988
Oct. 21,1988 NATIONAL PURPLE HEART MUSEUM—
[H. Con. Res. 126] RECOGNITION A N D S U P P O R T
Whereas George Washington, at his headquarters in Newburgh,
New York, on August 7,1782, devised the Badge of Military Merit
(the antecedent of the Purple Heart) to be given to enlisted men
and noncommissioned officers for meritorious action;
Whereas the Badge of Military Merit became popularly known as
the "Purple Heart" because it consisted of the figure of a heart in
purple cloth or silk edged with narrow lace or binding and was
affixed to the uniform coat above the left breast;
Whereas three Badges of Military Merit were awarded during the
Revolutionary War, all to volunteers from Connecticut;
Whereas the first recipient of "the Badge of Military Merit was
probably Sergeant Elijah Churchill, a carpenter from Enfield,
Connecticut;
Whereas Sergeant Churchill, who served in several units including
the 2d Continental Light Dragoon Regiment, was cited for gal-
lantry in three separate actions and was awarded the Badge of
Military Merit by George Washington at his headquarters, New-
burgh, New York, on May 3,1783;
Whereas the Badge of Military Merit was redesignated by General
Douglas MacArthur as the Purple Heart in February 1932, to be
awarded to persons killed or wounded in action against an enemy
of the United States; and
Whereas the National Purple Heart Museum Committee is develop-
ing the National Purple Heart Museum in Enfield, Connecticut, to
honor those individuals awarded the Purple Heart and to inform
and educate the people of the United States about the history and
importance of this distinguished combat award: Now, therefore, be
it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring).
That the Congress recognizes and supports the efforts of the Na-
tional Purple Heart Museum Committee to develop the National
Purple Heart Museum in Enfield, Connecticut, and encourages the
people of the United States to participate in the development of such
museum.
Agreed to October 21, 1988.
Oct. 21, 1988
IROQUOIS CONFEDERACY AND INDIAN
[H. Con. Res. 331] NATIONS—RECOGNIZING CONTRIBUTIONS
TO THE UNITED STATES
Whereas the original framers of the Constitution, including, most
notably, George Washington and Benjamin Franklin, are known
to have greatly admired the concepts of the Six Nations of the
Iroquois Confederacy;
Whereas the confederation of the original Thirteen Colonies into
one republic was influenced by the political system developed by
the Iroquois Confederacy as were many of the democratic prin-
ciples which were incorporated into the Constitution itself; and.
Whereas, since the formation of the United States, the Congress has
recognized the sovereign status of Indian tribes and has, through
CONCURRENT RESOLUTIONS—OCT. 21, 1988 102 STAT. 4933
the exercise of powers reserved to the Federal Government in the
Commerce Clause of the Constitution (art. I, s.2, cl. 3), dealt with
Indian tribes on a government-to-government basis and has,
through the treaty clause (art. II, s.2, cl. 2) entered into three
hundred and seventy treaties with Indian tribal Nations;
Whereas, from the first treaty entered into with an Indian Nation,
the treaty with the Delaware Indians of September 17, 1778, the
Congress has assumed a trust responsibility and obligation to
Indian tribes and their members;
Whereas this trust responsibility calls for Congress to "exercise the
utmost good faith in dealings with Indians" as provided for in the
Northwest Ordinance of 1787, (1 Stat. 50);
Whereas the judicial system of the United States has consistently
recognized and reaffirmed this special relationship: Now, there-
fore, be it
Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring),
That—
(1) the Congress, on the occasion of the two hundredth
anniversary of the signing of the United States Constitution,
acknowledges the contribution made by the Iroquois Confed-
eracy and other Indian Nations to the formation and develop-
ment of the United States;
(2) the Congress also hereby reaffirms the constitutionally
recognized government-to-government relationship with Indian
tribes which has been the cornerstone of this Nation's official
Indian policy;
(3) the Congress specifically acknowledges and reaffirms the
trust responsibility and obligation of the United States Govern-
ment to Indian tribes, including Alaska Natives, for their
preservation, protection, and enhancement, including the provi-
sion of health, education, social, and economic assistance pro-
grams as necessary, and including the duty to assist tribes in
their performance of governmental responsibility to provide for
the social and economic well-being of their members and to
preserve tribal cultural identity and heritage; and
(4) the Congress also acknowledges the need to exercise the
utmost good faith in upholding its treaties with the various
tribes, as the tribes understood them to be, and the duty of a
great Nation to uphold its legal and moral obligations for the
benefit of all of its citizens so that they and their posterity may
also continue to enjoy the rights they have enshrined in the
United States Ck)nstitution for time immemorial.
Agreed to October 21, 1988.
THE UNITED STATES SENATE HISTORICAL Oct. 21.1988
ALMANAC—SENATE PRINT [s. con. Res. i46]
Whereas the Senate of the United States in 1989 will commemorate
its two hundredth anniversary; and
Whereas the Senate has determined that the series of "Senate
Bicentennial Minutes", which Senator Bob Dole began on Janu-
ary 6, 1987, is worthy of separate publication and wide distribu-
tion: Now, therefore, be it

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